WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the March 15th total of 1,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 616,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

WaFd Price Performance

NASDAQ WAFD traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.22. The company had a trading volume of 301,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,000. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.79. WaFd has a twelve month low of $23.75 and a twelve month high of $38.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.61.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. WaFd had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $179.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.17 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that WaFd will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. WaFd's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAFD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on WaFd from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson cut shares of WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $35.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, WaFd presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Institutional Trading of WaFd

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in WaFd during the fourth quarter worth about $1,766,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 6,682 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 33.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 161,958 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,643,000 after buying an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of WaFd by 152.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 469,704 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,143,000 after acquiring an additional 283,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 447,621 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,431,000 after acquiring an additional 19,117 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About WaFd

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.